NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc.’s big event Tuesday was met with cheers on Wall Street Wednesday, with one analyst calling it the best product event since Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007.

The Cupertino, Calif.–based tech giant has been accused of allowing innovation to stagnate after the 2011 death of co-founder Steve Jobs, and those criticisms continued Tuesday when Apple
AAPL, +1.63%
said its smartwatch would need to be paired with an iPhone 5 or better in order to operate.

However, Wall Street has since had time to digest the news, and the consensus is mostly positive.

Has Apple really gotten its mojo back? Only time will tell, but this is why analysts think it has:

Catching up: the iPhone

Improvements to the iPhone’s processing power and functionality, including the addition of mobile payments enabling NFC technology and better camera specs, drew cheers from several analysts as Apple’s flagship phone moved closer to matching the capabilities of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Galaxy
005930, -0.56%
and other Android-operated devices
GOOGL, +1.80%

“Apple product launches yesterday were clearly the most important in the Tim Cook era, which we think will put to rest concerns about Apple losing their ability to innovative,” Susquehanna International analyst Chris Caso said in a note to clients.

A mix of average selling prices may also help to drive the stock higher, Caso said, with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 starting at $199 and the larger iPhone 6 Plus selling at a $100 premium. Susquehanna predicted that the more expensive iPhone will come to represent some 30% of total iPhone 6 volume.

Analysts were perhaps most excited about Apple’s new digital-wallet service, called Apple Pay, which the tech darling will operate through partnerships with MasterCard Inc.
MA, -0.39%
Visa Inc.
V, -0.18%
and American Express Co.
AXP, -0.19%
as well as a number of retail partners, including McDonald’s Corp.
MCD, +0.67%
and Whole Foods Market Inc.
WFM, +1.07%

“Apple Pay accelerates the trajectory of growth and profitability” of Apple’s online services business that also includes iTunes and the App Store, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said in a note to clients.

Citi analyst Mark May pointed to the impact Apple Pay could have on eBay’s PayPal
EBAY, +1.87%
given the Apple Pay service’s integration with Apple’s ecosystem of products. Shares of eBay were down nearly 3% in recent trades Wednesday afternoon.

Apple Pay, set to launch in October, will operate through Apple’s secure TouchID, improving security and, perhaps, knocking down the barrier to entry.

However, analysts at Wells Fargo said the initial revenue impact of Apple Pay is likely to be small.

Innovation: Apple Watch

The Apple Watch may have initially been met with a post-event ho-hum reaction, but analysts on Wednesday seemed to warm up to its focus on fashion and personalization. The wearable will come in two sizes and offer a number of interface customizations.

Apple, while taking the wraps off the smartwatch with a health focus, as expected, also boasted new communications functions, such as Digital Touch, which enables one-to-one communication through taps and drawings — even the sharing of heartbeats.

Other interesting qualities include its integration with Apple Pay and its compatibility with Siri.

Wall Street is disappointed that the watch won’t ship for another few months and requires the iPhone 5 or a later iPhone to operate. Despite carrying a $349 price tag, Morgan Stanley continues to believe that Apple will sell up to 60 million units of the Apple Watch in the product’s first year.

“Google has never backed away from competition, and innovation has never been an issue for the company, but Apple Pay and Watch do raise the bar,” Citi’s May said in a note to clients.

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